Atlantic Federal Credit Union, which is now Maine’s largest credit union, bought an office building of nearly 100,000 square feet in South Portland to become the company’s new headquarters.
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Atlantic Federal Credit Union, which is now Maine’s largest credit union, bought a Class A office building of nearly 100,000 square feet at 600 Sable Oaks Drive in South Portland to become its new headquarters.
Atlantic FCU bought the property from Brookwood Sable Oaks Drive LLC for $18.1 million.
Tom Moulton of NAI The Dunham Group represented the buyer and Tony McDonald and Jon Rizzo of Boulos Co. represented the seller in the deal, which closed Feb. 10.
Atlantic FCU merged last year with York County Federal Credit Union, and they have grown to more than 200 employees. Atlantic purchased the building to support its expansion, according to a news release.
It is now Maine’s largest credit union, with $749 million in assets and 49,000 members. An updated list of Maine’s largest credit unions will be published in the April 6 edition of Mainebiz.
“In a short period we have outgrown the footprint of all of our branches,” said CEO Scott Chretien. “Finding a facility that allows our support staff to work in a strong one team environment is a benefit for our members. The location is a central location that meets the needs of our staff from Sanford to Topsham. The building is also a perfect fit because it is fully leased, except for space we will occupy.”
Former Bass headquarters
Built in 1992, the three-story 97,376-square-foot building on 6.25 acres is located in the in the Sable Oaks Executive Park, which is near the Maine Mall and includes the Portland Sheraton at Sable Oaks.
The building was originally entirely leased to shoe manufacturer G.H. Bass Co., a division of Phillips-Van Heusen Co. Around 2000, said McDonald, the building was acquired by BentleyForbes, a commercial real estate investment company in Los Angeles.
In 2005, Phillips-Van Heusen hired McDonald to sublease its space and reposition the building from a single-tenant headquarters to a multi-tenant office building.
In 2007, BentleyForbes sold the building for $16.8 million to Brookwood Sable Oaks Drive LLC, a subsidiary of Brookwood Financial Partners LP, a real estate investment firm in Beverly, Mass.
McDonald and Rizzo listed the property for Brookwood last September. The per-square-foot price of $181 was a deal compared with new construction costs in the $300 range.
Of Atlantic’s 200 employees, about 100 will move from various Atlantic and former York locations into the building within the coming year.
Atlantic is aiming for a June or July move, he added.